Warsaw 1920: The War for the Eastern Borderlands

Osprey Campaign #349

by Steven J. Zaloga, Steve Noon (Illustrations)

Published to coincide with the centenary of the campaign, this highly illustrated title from Steven Zaloga explores the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, a David and Goliath conflict which saw the survival of the newly independent Poland in the face of the Soviet Red Army.

The Battle of Warsaw in August 1920 has been described as one of the decisive battles of European history. At the start of the battle, the Red Army appeared to be on the verge of advancing through Poland into Germany to expand the Soviet revolution. Had the war spread into Germany, another great European war would have ensued, dragging in France and Britain. However, the Red Army was defeated by "the miracle on the Vistula."

This campaign title explores the origins and outcomes of this momentous battle. In May 1920, the Polish Army intervened in war-torn Ukraine, pushing all the way to Kiev, but the Red Army, by now triumphant in most of the theaters of the Russian Civil War, turned its attention to this new threat. By the late summer of 1920, two Soviet armies had advanced into Poland and the overconfident Soviet leadership dreamed of advancing over a prostrate Polish Army into neighboring Germany to ignite a Communist revolution in the heart of Europe.

Thanks to the low density of forces on both sides and the huge distances involved, the conflict was a war of maneuver, with a curious mixture of traditional and advanced tactics. Horse cavalry played a dominant role in the fighting, but airplanes, tanks, and armored trains lent the war an air of modernity. This illustrated study explores the war through the lens of the Battle of Warsaw, the turning point when, after a summer of disastrous retreat, the Polish army rallied and repulsed the Red Army at Warsaw and Lwow.

Genres: Military History, History, Poland

96 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2020

About the author

Steven Zaloga is an author and defense analyst known worldwide for his articles and publications on military technology.  He has written over a hundred books on military technology and military history, including “Armored Thunderbolt: The US Army Sherman in World War II”, one of the most highly regarded histories of the Sherman Tank.  His books have been translated into Japanese, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, and Russian. He was a special correspondent for Jane’s Intelligence Review and is on the executive board of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies and the New York Military Affairs Symposium. From 1987 through 1992, he was the writer/producer for Video Ordnance Inc., preparing their TV series Firepower.  He holds a BA in history from Union College and an MA in history from Columbia University.

Mr. Zaloga is also a noted scale armor modeler and is a host/moderator of the World War II Allied Discussion group at Missing-Lynx.com, a modelling website. He is a frequent contributor to the UK-based modeling magazine Military Modelling. He is a member of the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society.

Reviews

[Joe Krakovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Warsaw 1920" is the story of one of the most decisive, if little known, battles in history. Had the Soviets won, Lenin's plans were for the Red Army to invade Germany and/or Hungary, even at the threat of igniting another world war. Most people don't know that one of the main roles of the Red Army was not just to win control of Russia from the White Army, and protect the Soviet territory from foreign invaders, but to move into foreign countries to support Communist takeovers from within. The ultimate goal was world revolution. The Weimar Republic had indeed smashed a Communist rebellion, but that's another story.

Having Polish blood in me, reading about this piece of history made me a bit proud. Newly formed Poland, with an army of about 20 divisions, faced over 70 Russian divisions. How the Poles pulled this off made for some fascinating reading. In a way of a minor spoiler, the Polish army intelligence service not only could read Soviet radio traffic, but blocked their communications, sometimes by reading passages from the Bible over the airwaves! Being godless Communists, that probably really got their goat! Polish air recon contributed as well. This same intelligence service provided the British with a captured German Enigma machine in 1939 so they could read top secret dispatches throughout WWII. According to the author, this 'ace up the sleeve' that was the Polish intelligence service remained a secret until 2004!

The area where most of the fighting took place to the east of Warsaw was referred to as the Eastern Borderlands. At the time there were several countries being formed as the old countries' boundaries were moved, often with no consideration for the people who lived there. The Treaty of Versailles created a lot of bad feelings, and not just in Germany, but in Moscow as well. Of the territories in the Eastern Borderlands, the Ukrainians often sided with the Poles, or at least viewed the Soviets as a common enemy. They attacked the Soviets in a similar manner similar to the partisans of WWII. This was one reason for Stalin's later genocide against them.

After WWII, most of Eastern Europe lay under Soviet control behind the Iron Curtain. It was only natural that the story of this embarrassing Soviet defeat was suppressed all these years.

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

"WARSAW 1920: The Battle for the Eastern Borderlands" highlights the key Battle for Warsaw of the 1919-20 Russo-Polish War between the Red Army of Bolshevik Russia and the Polish Army of newly re-established Poland (a nation that last existed in 1795 when it was parceled out among Prussia, Austria, and Russia).

The Battle for Warsaw was fought 100 YEARS AGO. (Both sides made use of armored cars and trains, cavalry, light and heavy artillery, signals intelligence, some tanks, and airplanes.) It was a battle in which Lenin - whose forces vastly outnumbered the Poles - hoped to absorb Poland and carry the struggle on into Germany, thus igniting another European war through which the Bolsheviks would triumph. At least that was what Lenin thought was possible. Thankfully, through "the miracle on the Vistula", Polish forces were ably led and showed considerable skill in blunting and defeating the Bolsheviks in the field.

The book also has an amazing set of photos, illustrations, and battlefield diagrams through which the reader can better understand the dimensions of the war itself which spilled over into Belarus and the Ukraine. What's more: there is a little known aspect of 20th century European history that is examined here that bears a direct relationship to the happenings in Eastern Europe today. This is a history which deserves greater scrutiny and study.

[Garrett Olinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good narrative

[Emerson Stokes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely talked about is the struggle for the borderlands of the collapsed Russian Empire in the aftermath of the Russian Revolutions. The name Russian Revolution is a little deceiving, as it not only encompassed the whole empire but attempted to spread itself beyond the empire’s borders. The desire of the Bolshevik leadership to spread the Revolution to the heart of Europe and then beyond was stopped at the outskirts of Warsaw.

The war shows many of the characteristics that were common in the Eastern Europe during this time period. Less industrialized than the west, machine guns, airplanes and artillery had to contend equally with massed cavalry and armoured trains that could still be devastatingly effective in an environment so expansive and less controlled.

At the outset, it seemed that the Red Army should have broken the Polish easily. Their army was 5 million strong in total while the Polish numbered less than 1 million. However, several key factors were actually in the favour of Poland. Many of their soldiers and officers were veterans of the former German, Austrian and Russian armies. Although capable of making sweeping advances, the lack of resources meant Red Army pushes could lose momentum easily once food and supplies have been burned through, something Poland did not have to consider. Importantly highlighted in this book as well is Poland having a core of veteran code breakers from the Great War who could intercept and break the messages of the Bolsheviks who had to use radio and telegraph over long distances. Additionally though, the Soviets failed to concentrate their forces in the hopes of pushing past Poland altogether, allowing the Polish Army to perform one knockout blow just outside Warsaw.

5/5 book.

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a number of particular virtues to this account of what was, arguably, the last campaign of World War I. For one, Zaloga takes advantage of the recent Polish scholarship on the topic, which includes outlining how signal intelligence was a real difference maker in the struggle. Also, considering the current confrontation between Kiev and Moscow, it is to be appreciated how the Ukrainian perspective is fully integrated into Zaloga's narrative. Highly recommended.

[Checkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 11:00 A.M. on November 11, 1918, the guns fell silent and World War One ended......well more or less. The war ended for the Central Powers (Germany, Austo-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria) and the Allies (British Empire, France, Belgium, Italy, Japan, United States, Greece, Portugal and many others), but in Eastern Europe the Poles, Ukrainians, Soviets (Russian Communists) and others continued on fighting. For those participants the only difference was Germany and Austro-Hungary were no longer involved with the "festivities". What follows is a brief synopsis. It's necessary for those who know little to nothing about what occurred in Eastern Europe near the end and after World War One.

With the end of World War One and the dissolution of the German, Austro-Hungarian and Czarist/Russian empires many nationalities/ethnic groups declared their independence. The Soviets had signed a separate peace agreement with Germany on March 3, 1918 and ceded a vast swath of territory to the Germans. Shortly after the signing of the "Brest-Litovsk Treaty" the Bolsheviks found themselves fighting a civil war. Things had been very shaky prior to the treaty, and the Soviets knew they were in no shape to continue fighting Germany. Lenin needed to focus on greater threats and peace with Germany was necessary - even a lopsided one.

With the end of the first world war the treaty was nullified, and the Soviets wanted the ceded territory back, but much that that land was occupied by Poles. The young nation of Poland wasn't going to just lay down and let the Reds march back in. Poland fought a war with the newly formed Soviet republic of Belarus and won in 1919. The Soviets were tied up with the Civil War against the White Russians and other factions. The Polish Army could have marched onto Moscow in 1919 (possibly), but the White Russians had stated that if they won Poland was going to be annexed back into the restored Russian Empire. The Poles decided to let the Russian Soviet focus on the Whites - which they did.

Buoyed by their victory they then attacked the Russian Soviet in 1920 hoping to establish favorable borders. That was a mistake. The Soviet Army by 1920 was massive (over 70 divisions), experienced and the White Russian threat had been reduced. Lenin was able to focus significant force against the Poles. The Soviet Army attacked and the Polish Army was sent back to the Vistula River and Warsaw. By July 1920 things were looking bad for Poland and Germany for that matter. The Bolsheviks intended to defeat Poland and then move right into Germany (exhausted and fighting its own civil war) bringing about the Communist Revolution in Central Europe and likely war with France and Great Britain. Not all historians agree that was the Reds intention, but it seems plausible to me.

That did not happen. The Polish Army drove the Soviet forces back and out of Poland. In March of 1921 an armistice was signed between the two nations and the Poland was secure and independent.... for eighteen years. Regardless of what was going to happen in 1939 the Polish victory was nothing short of miraculous.

So why this long-winded synopsis? Many folks know almost nothing about the events in Eastern Europe that followed the end of World War One. Some who have watched the movies "Doctor Zhivago" and "Reds" might be aware that there was a civil war after the communists took over, but many in the English-speaking world know almost nothing about the Polish-Soviet War or the fact that it could have easily led to a second World War; nineteen years before it actually occurred. A war that would have likely involved all the allied nations, nations (most) that were worn out spiritually and physically. But thanks to the Poles that didn't happen in 1920. Weirdly enough World War II would start (also) thanks to Poland in 1939, but this book isn't about that event

Steven Zaloga usually writes about weapon systems, in recent years he has focused heavily on armored warfare, and I have many of his Osprey books as well as a few others put out by different publishers. Having served as a tanker during my years in the U.S. Army I enjoy his books. "Warsaw 1920" is a bit of a change for him, but perhaps due to the fact that he is of Polish descent he felt that it was time to acknowledge the victory of his ancestors on the 0ne-hundredth anniversary. Whatever the reason this is an excellent Cliff's Notes intro to a war that many know nothing about.

There is a brief synopsis of the political situation, events leading up to the campaign in question and an examination of opposing leadership, tactics and weapons. Numerous photographs, many maps (always appreciated by this reader) and full-color depictions of battles help to make sense of the complicated situation - which is really what Osprey books are all about. This war covered hundreds of miles of territory and was fought with the latest weaponry (planes, armored trains, machine-guns) as well as cavalry and horse drawn supply trains. It's a fascinating struggle that falls between the 20th and 19th centuries. Mr. Zaloga has always done good work on covering essential details without getting bogged down in the weeds and it continues with "Warsaw 1920".

[Mastersonmcvoidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new history of the Polish-Soviet War, and by extension of the other border wars Poland fought in 1920, written to commemorate the centennial of the Battle of Warsaw, which smashed the Red Army and ended the Soviet campaigns in the west.

For an Osprey book, this work is pretty good and is a welcome addition to the small, but growing field of literature on this fairly obscure conflict, but is nothing all that special. The book does give a nice amount of context to the prelude of the war and covers the Polish campaigns in Ukraine and Lithuania as well as giving good information on all of the armies involved, but nothing too in-depth. The military history itself is good with pretty much all of the important campaigns being covered. Most of these, however, are given only passing mentions with the Battle of Warsaw and the Battle of Komarow being given a bit more attention.

For the main episode of the war, the Battle of Warsaw, the book is concise and good as an introduction, but it covers the whole war and doesn't devote too much space to the battle itself. This is something that I had mixed feelings about. It was interesting to see a bit more info on the fighting in Ukraine before the Polish-Soviet War properly began, but seeing that the information on the battle itself is not as detailed as I would like leaves me a bit uneasy.

The author is to be applauded for the objectivity and clarity with which the book is written, it manages to offer an authoritative account without being clouded by bias too much. The last parts of the book show estimates for the casualties in the war, but note that the estimates are impossible to pinpoint with any accuracy. The battlefield today section is pretty much empty and does not really cover the current state of the battlefields.

A nice little book that is useful as an introduction to the war that ravaged Eastern Europe just after WWI and is worth reading, but far from a definitive account.

Final Rating: 6.5/10

[Shyue Chou Chuang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent introductory and concise volume as to what transpired in the Russo-Polish war that culminated in the battle of Warsaw of 1920. It details the taking of Kiev by Polish forces, the subsequent rout of the Polish forces leading to a 400-500 km retreat and the advance of the Bolsheviks to the approaches to Warsaw.

This volume incorporates the latest research in that it was found that the Poles had relied greatly on signal intelligence and were reading Russian communications. The Poles were able to know the disposition of Russian forces and also their locations at each step of the campaign.

Excellent maps of the campaign and also specific battlefields, ie Warsaw, Kiev, were also provided. Orders of battle of the various units involved were provided too. All of these were accompanied by excellent illustrations and black and white photos of the various men, artillery, aircraft and more.